1897 William Jennings Bryan Oregon Ribbon!

Talk about a blast from the past. This ribbon comes from the collection of APIC member Tom Berg. He shared it with us on the APIC Facebook page.

From the Berg Collection

William Jennings Bryan had just lost a presidential election to William McKinely and was in the state for the Fifth Southern Oregon Chautauqua. Here is more on the event by Jefferson Public Radio correspondent Craig Stillwell,

On July 10th of that year, the Fifth Southern Oregon Chautauqua opened in what is today’s Lithia Park. The speaker who attracted a huge audience of over 2500 people that Saturday afternoon was the Honorable William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska. He had run for President as a Democrat the previous year, but had lost to William McKinley. After praising the beauty of Ashland and its surroundings, Bryan spoke on the day’s controversial topic—bimetallism.

My guess is there must have been several events that week to capitalize on Bryan making a swing through the state. He was gearing up for another campaign in 1900. Free Silver was still a hot button issue in Oregon and much of the west.

President McKinley had claimed a win of 2,040 votes over Bryan in Oregon during the 1896 election. If Bryan was to run again, Oregon would be a good place for him to come test out his new messages A great item to have in either an Oregon or Bryan collection.